Last decade was the warmest ever, says NASA

From an Agence France-Presse article posted on Grist:

WASHINGTON—The past decade was the warmest ever, according to a new analysis of global surface temperatures released by NASA.

The U.S. space agency also found that 2009 was the second-warmest year on record since modern temperature measurements began in 1880. Last year was only a small fraction of a degree cooler than 2005, the warmest yet, putting 2009 in a virtual tie with the other hottest years, which have all occurred since 1998.

According to James Hansen, who heads NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, global temperatures change due to variations in ocean heating and cooling. “When we average temperature over five or 10 years to minimize that variability, we find global warming is continuing unabated,” Hansen said in a statement.

A strong La Niña effect that cooled the tropical Pacific Ocean made 2008 the coolest year of the decade, according to the New York-based institute.

In analyzing the data, NASA scientists found a clear warming trend, although a leveling off took place in the 1940s and 1970s. The records showed that temperatures trended upward by about 0.36 degrees F per decade over the past 30 years. Average global temperatures have increased a total of about 1.5 degrees F since 1880.

“That’s the important number to keep in mind,” said Gavin Schmidt, a climatologist with the institute. “The difference between the second and sixth warmest years is trivial because the known uncertainty in the temperature measurement is larger than some of the differences between the warmest years.”

Last year’s near-record temperatures took place despite an unseasonably cool December in much of North America and a warmer-than-normal Arctic, with frigid air from the Arctic rushing into the region while warmer mid-latitude air shifted northward, the institute said.

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Florida cold snap killed numerous Keys manatees

From an article by Kevin Ladlow on KeysNet.com:

Frigid waters in the Keys during this month's record cold snap killed manatees and corals, in addition to untold numbers of fish, biologists say.

"This is an unprecedented event as far as the Keys marine environment is concerned," said Billy Causey, southeast regional director for the National Marine Sanctuaries Program.

"This one will do down in the history books," Causey said. "We'll be cleaning up after this one for quite some time."

Seven dead manatees were found in Upper Keys waters between Jan. 18 and 22, part of a record 107 manatees killed statewide from Jan. 1 to 23.

The 107 dead manatees nearly doubles the previous record of 56 manatee deaths in a single month, set in January 2009.

Biologists with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reported that 77 deaths are directly attributable to "cold stress," and several others likely died as a result of the cold.

Nine dead manatees were found in waters of mainland Monroe County, off Flamingo and Everglades City.

"Any time the water gets below 60 degrees, manatees don't do well," said Mary Stella of the Dolphin Research Center on Grassy Key. "It was colder tan that for a long time."

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Florida Keys coral takes lethal hit from cold

From an article on UnderwaterTimes.com:

SUMMERLAND KEY, Florida -- Sustained cold water temperatures in South Florida and the Florida Keys triggered severe coral bleaching and even coral death, alerting resource managers and prompting a coordinated assessment response from the science community. Temperatures in some nearshore areas of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary dropped to 52 degrees Fahrenheit for several days - well below average for this time of year — with fatal results for some corals.

A cold-water bleaching and die-off hasn't occurred in Florida since the late 1970s.

"The Keys have not seen a cold-water bleaching event like this since the winter of 1977-78, when acres of staghorn coral perished," said Dr. Billy Causey, southeast regional director of NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries. "But today we are better prepared to document and assess the impacts of stress thanks to numerous partners." Causey has lived and worked in the Keys since 1971.

Over the next two weeks, teams of science divers from federal and state agencies and non-governmental and academic organizations will be surveying sites from the Dry Tortugas through Martin County to assess and monitor mortality and changes in coral health. The site locations and survey protocol were developed by The Nature Conservancy and other members of the Florida Reef Resilience Program for monitoring impacts to corals following a major disturbance, such as a mass-bleaching event.

Coral bleaching occurs when a coral animal undergoes stress and loses its symbiotic algae (called zoxanthellae). Prolonged stress can result in coral death. Coral bleaching is most frequently associated with elevated water temperatures, but stress also occurs when water temperatures dip below the preferred 60-degree threshold.

"If there is any ‘good news' it's that reef managers and scientists are able to quickly respond to this event and are in a good position to learn more about how reefs will rebound following such a rare occurrence," said Chris Bergh, director of The Nature Conservancy's Coastal and Marine Resilience Program.

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Group sues to force US protection of coral

From an Associated Press article by David McFadden published in the Omaha World-Herald:

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) - A U.S. conservation group announced Wednesday it would sue the federal government to force a decision on whether to protect 83 coral species it says are threatened by global warming and more acidic waters.

The Arizona-based Center for Biological Diversity has sent notification of its intention to sue the National Marine Fisheries Service because the U.S. agency missed a deadline for an endangered species listing decision for dozens of coral species. A 60-day notification letter is required before a suit can be field.

Miyoko Sakashita, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, said the corals, found in Florida, Hawaii and island territories in the Caribbean and Pacific, face a growing threat of extinction from rising ocean temperatures.

"Timing is of the essence to reverse the tragic decline of these vitally important reefs," Sakashita said. "We can't afford any delays in protecting corals under the Endangered Species Act."

Connie Barclay, a spokeswoman for the National Marine Fisheries Service, said Wednesday that agency scientists are working on the conservation group's petition to put 83 coral species on the endangered species list. They hope to publish their findings in the next two weeks.

Among the group's list of 83 species is the mountainous star coral, once considered the dominant reef building coral in the Atlantic, and the ivory tree coral, a branching coral found in the Caribbean whose delicate limbs provide shelter for numerous reef fish.

Sakashita said protection under the Endangered Species Act would create new conservation opportunities and provide for greater scrutiny of fishing, dredging and offshore oil development.

Reef-building coral is a fragile organism, a tiny polyp-like animal that builds a calcium-carbonate shell around itself and survives in a symbiotic relationship with types of algae - each providing sustenance to the other. Even a 1 degree Celsius (1.7 degree Fahrenheit) rise in normal maximum sea temperatures can disrupt that relationship.

Unusually warm waters in recent years has caused the animals that make up coral to expel the colorful algae they live with, creating a bleached color. If the problem persists, the coral itself dies - killing the environment where many fish and other marine organisms live.

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Silver lining around Florida cold snap: More turtles tagged than ever

From an article from the Underwatertimes.com News Service:

TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- Even though the recent cold snap brought many cold-stunned sea turtles into shallow waters and onto shorelines across the state, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and its many partners saved the majority of the animals from certain death.

Frigid water temperatures stunned thousands of sea turtles throughout the state. If left unaided, most of these turtles would not have survived. Many would have been attacked by predators, been hit by boats or simply drowned. Rescuers worked feverishly for more than a week to save the immobilized animals, rescuing and eventually releasing nearly 80 percent of the affected sea turtles. FWC biologists are confident that most of the sea turtles will not suffer long-term impacts from the stunning event.

Additional good news is emerging from those who have been working diligently to save the animals. Rescue of the sea turtles by the FWC and its many partners could prove beneficial to the animals in the long term.

"We've been able to tag many more turtles than ever before, which enables us to learn about their biology," said Dr. Blair Witherington, FWC biologist. "It's been a great opportunity for data collection; it's unprecedented to have access to so many turtles at one time."

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Lionfishes eat nearly anything that fits in their mouths

A lionfish spreading its fins herding and trapping prey fishes. From the site of Dr. Picciolo's summary.

Dr. Anthony Picciolo of NOAA's Coral Reef Information System (CoRIS) summarized a listserve discussion (coral-list@coral.aoml.noaa.gov) among marine professionals about the IndoPacific lionfish invasion of the U.S. south Atlantic sea coast and Caribbean Sea:

Lionfish experts are in agreement that invasive lionfish populations will continue to grow and cannot be eliminated using conventional methods. Lionfishes have become established along the southeastern coast of the United States, Bermuda, the Bahamas, and throughout the Caribbean. This places swimmers, snorkelers, divers, and fishermen at risk from their painful, venomous sting and leaves native reef fish populations and coral reef community stability at great risk from their interactions with this species. In a five-week experiment, scientists in the Bahamas established that lionfish can cause significant reductions (by 79%) in the recruitment of native fishes. One large lionfish was observed consuming 20 small fishes in a 30-minute period.

Lionfishes may, directly and indirectly, cause harm to coral reef ecosystems. As aggressive ambush predators with few predators of their own in their introduced range, lionfishes can quickly and alarmingly reduce local native reef fish (and some invertebrate) populations to the point where native piscivores cannot compete for these prey animals. This in-turn can cause a reduction in the growth and survival of the native predators. Stomach content analyses of lionfishes reveal a wide diversity in prey species and size classes. As stated by one participant in the discussion, lionfishes are eating nearly anything that will fit into their mouths.

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Can cruise lines and the ocean coexist?

From an article by David Rosenfeld on eTurboNews

On a trip to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, a few years back, Shauna and David Schober were snorkeling off the coast with a tour company that took them by boat to explore some underwater caves. But their snorkel excursion was cut short when less than a mile away a cruise ship discharged its septic tanks.

“As it was passing, the water behind it was bubbling up out of the back with almost like a sick green algae substance,” Shauna Schober said. “It looked like sewage, and you could smell it – like it was treated with chemicals, almost like it smells in a porta-potty.”

The tour guides said: Get out of the water. “They said the cruise ship was dumping its tanks and it was better not to be in the water,” she said.

The cruise line industry relies on pristine oceans, beautiful coral reefs and marine life to draw millions of travelers on cruise vacations each year. But the same ships that advertise excursions to untouched ocean scenery are threatening these very same natural resources with their standard practice of flushing harmful toxins, mostly as sewage and food waste, into the ocean.

These problems are not new or unknown. But the cruise line industry has been operating effectively with little federal government oversight for much of the past decade since Department of Justice in the late 1990s indicted the top three cruise companies for dumping oily bilge water (the stagnate oil and water that collect in the ship’s hull). Investigators found that ships had installed pipes – hidden in hand rails on some ships – that allowed crew members to bypass oil separators intended to purify the bilge water.

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